Experts-To-Go
Helping Ontario’s interactive digital media companies solve key business and marketing challenges.
Experts-To-Go is a pilot program designed to provide Ontario’s interactive digital media companies with the expertise they need to tackle a specific business or marketing challenge at an affordable rate. Companies who are selected to participate in the program will receive a minimum of a full day of in-person strategic consulting, as well as a follow-up call, with a consultant or professional services provider working in the field relevant to their most pressing question. Companies will be matched with a consultant based on their individual needs, ensuring a customized experience.
Ontario’s interactive digital media companies are doing big things, often with small teams and limited budgets. This program is designed to fill the gaps in in-house expertise, allowing companies to find solutions to problems that are hindering project success and company growth.
What You’ll Get
- An onboarding questionnaire providing your consultant the challenge you would like to address
- A match with a specialized consultant/service provider with expertise in your requested area of inquiry and knowledge of the interactive digital media sector’s unique challenges
- A minimum of one full day consulting session at your company’s office
- Follow up phone call or calls (up to two hours)
- The opportunity to work with a consultant at a greatly reduced rate – participants will receive consulting services with an approximate value of $2000. A chance to solve challenges (with the added bonus of having the chance to test the fit of a consultant before considering for a longer-term engagement).
Details
- Deadline: First-come first-served. Limited spots available, so apply as soon as possible!
- Fees: $250 per company
- Jury: Representatives from the IO staff and board
- Companies will be notified within 15 business days of their application whether or not they have been selected for the program.
Selection Criteria
1
Challenges and Opportunities – Is the company able to articulate the barrier to growth they would like to address and how solving it will impact their company? – 40%
2
Company track record – Does the company have a track record of successful business operations? If the company is emerging, do they have a strong understanding of the industry? – 20%
3
Planning – Does the company have potential for success? Do they have a good roadmap or product idea in place? – 20%
4
Team – which team members will be participating in the program? Will the learnings benefit more than one team member? How diverse is the team? – 15%
5
Impact – Is the company unlikely to be able to afford this expertise without the program? – 5%
Eligibility
1
Interactive digital media companies with headquarters or an office in Ontario (an interactive digital media company is one whose primary line of business is interactive content creation). Interactive digital media includes products such as games, immersive experiences (VR/AR), idocs, edutainment apps and other interactive applications designed for entertainment or edutainment. Please contact IO if you are unsure of your eligibility.
2
Companies do not need to be members of Interactive Ontario to apply to the program, but if selected must become members before moving ahead with their participation in the program.
3
Participants must not have received money from the CMF’s Accelerator Partnership Program (A2P) in any given year since the inception of this CMF program.
Types of Consultants
IO will work with the selected companies to match them with the most relevant expert, based on the issue to be addressed through the program (1 per company). As such, we will accommodate requests for a wide variety of experts.
At least one third of selected projects will focus on discoverability and marketing expertise such as:
Marketing planning
User acquisition and retention
Influencer marketing
Organic digital marketing and social media
Paid digital marketing
Analytics for decision making
Projects can also focus on areas such as:
Business development expertise:
Business modelling
International market development
Pitching to publishers
Deal negotiation and structure
Professional services:
Legal
Finance
Partners
Experts-To-Go was made possible with the support of:
